PARIS — Andy Murray’s growing love of clay blossomed as he posted an easy first-round win at the French Open on Monday.
Men’s third seed Murray took his winning streak on the red dust to 11 matches by overpowering Argentine lucky loser Facundo Arguello 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 at Roland Garros, maintaining his unbeaten run since marrying long-term partner Kim Sears.
Black-clad and business-like, the world number three’s power, poise and new-found confidence on clay proved too much for the 22-year-old lucky loser who was playing only the second grand slam match of his career.
“I was nervous today. It’s always like that in the first round of a major tournament. It shows that you care,” the Briton said.
Murray is in the same half of the Roland Garros draw as favourite Novak Djokovic and nine-time champion Rafa Nadal and could play world number eight David Ferrer in the quarter-finals.
Although he has two grand slam titles under his belt already, on the U.S. Open hard courts in 2012 and the grass of Wimbledon in 2013, the 28-year-old Scot has yet to lift the trophy on the red dirt courts of Roland Garros.
But after landing warmup titles on the same surface in Munich and Madrid, the latter with an emphatic win over Nadal, Murray is now unbeaten in 11 matches.
Spain’s Feliciano Lopez, the men’s 11th seed, became the highest casualty so far, losing 6-3 7-6 (9) 6-3 to Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili while women’s 14th seed Agnieszka Radwanska’s slump continued as the former world number two succumbed 6-2 3-6 6-1 to Germany’s Annika Beck.
Murray joined Roger Federer in getting a head start with a confident display on Court Phillipe Chatrier.
There were a few early nerves, a double-fault in the opening game giving Arguello a break point that he could not convert and again when he allowed his 137th-ranked opponent to recover from 3-0 down to level at 3-3 in the first set.
Once Murray, twice a French Open semi-finalist, broke in the eighth game though he was untroubled.
“I hope (nerves) are always there,” he said. “I can’t remember the last time I played a first-round match in a slam and did not feel nervous.”
Murray was joined in the second round by fourth seed Tomas Berdych who beat Yoshihito Nishioka 6-0 7-5 6-3.
Nishioka was one of seven teenagers in the men’s draw, two of whom produced excellent wins on Monday.
Croatian Borna Coric, 18, beat American Sam Querrey 7-6 (8) 6-3 0-6 6-3 while Australian wildcard Thanasi Kokkinakis, 19, put out Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Kokkinakis will face countryman Bernard Tomic next.
Nick Kyrgios, yet another Aussie young gun, lived up to his 29th seeding by breezing past Denis Istomin.
Home crowds flocking into the grounds had plenty to cheer too with French number one Alize Cornet opening proceedings on centre court with a fighting 4-6 6-4 6-1 triumph over Italian Roberta Vinci and the ever-popular Gael Monfils, the 13th seed, defeating compatriot Edouard Roger-Vasselin.
Tomas Berdych, the fourth seed from the Czech Republic, advanced with a straight-set victory over Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka.
Berdych won 6-0, 7-5, 6-3, getting 42 winners to his 19- year-old opponent’s four. Although the 29-year-old reached the semifinal in 2010, he had also lost five times in the opening round in Paris, so was relieved to move on.
“I just came into the tournament after a very, very good weeks on the clay especially, which is very important to me, Berdych told reporters. ”Been playing a lot of the matches, win a lot of them, and also in between those weeks I had a very good preparation.”
Fabio Fognini of Italy defeated Japan’s Tatsuma Ito, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, while eighth seed Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain eased past Romania’s Monica Niculescu, 6-2, 6-2. France’s Alize Cornet came back to beat Roberta Vinci of Italy, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.